The Ides of July // Loki - Book 1 ✓

Chapter 30: Returned

EREN LEADS ANNA out of the van, his grip on her uninjured arm tight. Stepping out into the inky darkness of the warm Istanbul night, she recognizes the same factory building that Eren brought her to before. Unfortunately, she was so distraught after Rifat's death that she couldn't remember where it was - or, more specifically - how to get out of here.

She glances over her shoulder to see Loki unceremoniously removed from the van, his feet dragging on the ground as several men struggle to transport the Asgardian god. Clearly, he's heavier than his lithe, muscular frame suggests.

Ahead of her, Magnus swings open the familiar metal door as they follow him into the now-empty factory floor. Machinery lies dormant, remnants of the workers sprinkled throughout the production line. They must close in the late afternoon instead of operating at all hours, allowing their employees to see them in a positive light whilst providing enough secrecy to cloak the underground facilities.

Certainly makes it easier to kidnap people without anyone here to notice.

Soon they are downstairs, and Loki is deposited abruptly into a heavily guarded cell. The drab concrete walls flow into an empty floor, where the sole furnishing is the threadbare cot upon which his unconscious body is thrown.

Eren pushes her down into a frigid metal chair facing the window looking into the cell, the floor to ceiling glass reinforced with a layer of metal bars. She wonders if it's a one-way mirror as a guard rushes in nervously, his hands shaking as he glances back at the glass, before he clamps strange-looking cuffs onto Loki's wrists.

"What the hell is going on?" Anna says, teeth clenched as she watches Loki shift uncomfortably.

Given his temper, she knows the god is going to be pissed when he wakes up.

"We had to maintain pretenses," Magnus explains casually. His hands are tucked into the pockets of his impeccably tailored suit, a crimson pocket square matching his thin, exquisitely red tie.

"Pretenses?" Anna scoffs. "You mean kidnapping me? It's not fake considering I have no bloody clue what's happening."

Magnus smirks, "I assure you, my dear, this is all according to plan."

"You keep saying that," replies Anna, her eyes flicking at Eren before returning to the man in the suit. "I was not made aware of any such plan."

"Indeed you were," he retorts. "We discussed it. How Iron Man and his band of misfits have too much power. How the world is suffering from the tyrannical rule of these few mighty heroes who will someday run society into the ground. How we must do everything in our power to stop them. If I remember correctly, you were more than willing to voice your hatred for them upon our last encounter. Have your sentiments changed so much over the last few days?"

"I...no...I don't," Anna rambles nervously, gripping the edge of the seat with one hand.

Magnus laughs. Eren shifts in the corner of the room as he crosses his arms and leans against the wall to observe them. Anna glances through the glass at Loki, mentally willing him to return to consciousness and deflect attention from her. Guilt is rapidly filling her chest, a lead-filled cavity expanding and weighing her down, as she realizes what she has done. In her emotional response to Rifat's death, she unwittingly aligned herself with these men - these monsters - in a plot to capture and kill the Avengers. Their deaths, Loki's death, will be on her conscience.

She nearly winces at the last thought, part of her shaken to the core at the prospect of the raven-haired god leaving her and the other part shocked that she would care. Yesterday she would've been more than willing to pull the trigger herself on her fiance's murderer. Now, she isn't certain. After all - are they really all that different? In this moment, she feels just as bad - if not worse - than him.